Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate: Key takeaways after finishing the campaign

The newest expansion for Destiny 2, Bungie’s MMO, just dropped. After finishing The Edge of Fate campaign, we can already discuss a few key takeaways. These will have a direct impact on many players’ decisions to return to the game or pick it up for the first time.

So far, we have had the opportunity to play the campaign and the new Portal system, two pillars upon which Bungie’s revitalisation and streamlining of Destiny 2 are based. The first thing that surprised us was an almost completely bug-free and crash-free launch day with minimal queuing and a stable connection.

The reason might be that, compared to last year’s Final Shape expansion, only one-third of the record 320,000 people (via SteamCharts) jumped on the game on day one of The Edge of Fate. The other great thing for long-term fans is the return of mystery to the game: after two straight years of receiving answers, players now have big new questions to entertain themselves with for the foreseeable future.

The Edge of Fate is the first expansion of the Fate Saga, a new multi-year narrative arc for Destiny 2. The central mystery surrounding this story revolves around The Nine. These mysterious dark matter entities have invited players to explore the secrets of Kepler, a planetoid in the Oort Cloud at the edge of the Solar System.

Once landed, Guardians meet Lodi, a human from the 1960s who has been time-travelled by The Nine to Kepler. He’s the main ally of the players, along with the Ionians, a human tribe that has been isolated from the rest of humanity during the Collapse, Destiny’s apocalypse.

The main antagonist, at least on the surface, is a fallen archon corrupted by dark matter, trying to destabilise the singularity at the centre of Kepler. The player is tasked with investigating the mysteries of why a black hole is inside a planetoid, how it is even possible, and what happened to infuriate the Archon.

It’s not going to go down in history as the greatest Destiny story ever written, but The Edge of Fate’s campaign keeps you engaged and entertained for a good eight to 10 hours, depending on the difficulty. Its (limited) non-linearity is a nice addition to the formula, and the new characters and environments introduced are mysterious enough to keep you going, even when it’s late in the evening. 

The most important aspect of the narrative, however, is the fact that new and significant questions are now at the centre of the game, something players desperately needed after The Final Shape.

One of the biggest new systems coming with The Edge of Fate is the “New Gear”, a new way of handling weapons and armour in their legendary and exotic forms. All the gear you get from the new destination and activities is supposed to be more powerful, with buffs to the damage in the case of weapons, and the stats for armour. During the Legendary campaign, and for much of the post-campaign content, however, we did not feel the need to abandon our old gear for the new one; the benefits were simply not enough.

Bungie told fans that this was not only to be expected, but it’s almost by design. The Edge of Fate needs to feel like a fresh start for veterans and newcomers who don’t want to run 10 years’ worth of content to feel on par with their friends. This fresh start; however, is not Destiny 3, so all the weapons and armour that have been in the game previously still play a crucial role. We liked the “New Gear” label on old exotics because it made armaments that we haven’t been using for some time appealing again, like the now reworked Tommy’s Matchbooks assault rifle.

As a destination, Kepler is a very successful experiment. Bungie, starting with The Edge of Fate, has shifted its live service model from one big expansion per year to two medium-sized ones, completely erasing the seasonal model. The company said the amount of content output remains almost the same, but there’s no time to envision big destinations like the Pale Heart.

The community was subsequently worried that locations and mission areas, one of Destiny 2’s strongest suits, would lose polish and flair. We’re happy to report it’s on the contrary. With a smaller scale, no sparrows allowed, and a clear aesthetic (corrupted Fallen architecture), the designers packed their environments with detail and depth, also thanks to the new puzzle mechanics.

The Edge of Fate player count saw nearly 100,000 concurrents on day one, one-third of what The Final Shape had last June. There’s a lot to be happy about this expansion: new players have the Portal, a directory with activities and rewards that are well organised; veterans have the beginning of a new multi-year story, and everybody gets a lot of gear. Bungie didn’t talk about targets, but on paper, this performance will not look good in the eyes of Sony, which acquired the company in 2023. If the raid is a banger, however, we can see many disenfranchised players returning to have a go at it with their friends and rediscover the well-made narrative of Bungie’s looter shooter in the process.

The Edge of Fate performed solidly during its first three days. There’s enough for us to recommend it to reluctant players wondering if Bungie deserves another chance. The story is gripping, the gameplay is as sharp as ever, and the loot, while not astonishing, has a few surprises in store. A lot is resting on the raid’s shoulders, especially regarding returning players. Word of mouth in Discord servers, however, can do wonders, and Destiny 2 players have a lot to talk about with this new content drop.